''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son'' is a work by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

originally published in 1953 in volume 6 of the scholarly journal ''Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association'', and later republished in 1966 in '' The Tolkien Reader''; it is also included in the most recent edition of '' Tree and Leaf''. It is a work of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

, inspired by the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

poem ''

The Battle of Maldon "The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an Old English Old English literature, poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a Viking raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are ...

''. It is written in the form of an

alliterative Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a List of narrative techniques#Style, litera ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, but is also a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, being mainly a

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

between two characters in the aftermath of the

Battle of Maldon The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 or 11 August 991 AD near Maldon, Essex, Maldon beside the River Blackwater, Essex, River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the En ...

. The work was accompanied by two essays, also by Tolkien, one before and one after the main work. The work, as published, was thus presented as: *"The Death of Beorhtnoth" — an introductory essay concerning the battle and the Old English fragment that inspired Tolkien. *''The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son'' — the alliterative poem. *"Ofermod" — an essay following on from the main work, discussing the meaning of the Old English word '' ofermod'' "overconfidence, foolhardiness".

Plot

The play itself is the story of two characters, Tidwald (Tida) and Torhthelm (Totta), retrieving the body of Beorhtnoth,

Ealdorman Ealdorman ( , )"ealdorman"
''Collins English Dictionary''. was an office in the Government ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, from the battlefield at

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

. After a brief search they eventually find their lord's battle-mangled body and his golden sword. In the middle of the action, Totta slays an English battlefield-looter, for which Tída chastises him. The murder provides an opportunity for the characters to discuss the ethics of Beorhtnoth's actions. Totta is a romantic who thinks Beorhtnoth's actions were tragically noble, while Tída is the battle-experienced farmer who takes the realist position, pointing out the folly of Beorhtnoth's decision to let the Vikings cross the causeway. Eventually the two characters load the lord's body onto a cart, and the drama closes with them leaving the battlefield for a nearby abbey in Ely.

Critical discussion

Literary critics generally agree that "Homecoming" is Tolkien's biting critique of the northern heroic ethos. For example, using Tolkien's original drafts of "Homecoming", Thomas Honegger makes the case that Tolkien was especially concerned with casting Beorhtnoth's pride in a wholly negative light. George Clark states that Tolkien's reworking of ''

'' specifically "chastises" Beorhtnoth for his pride and generally criticizes the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals of pursuing fame and material wealth (41). Taking a similar position, Tom Shippey argues that Tolkien's condemnation of Beorhtnoth in "Homecoming" is "an act of parricide" against his Old English literary forebears, in which " had...to take 'the northern heroic spirit' and sacrifice it" (337). Taking a more nuanced approach, Mary R. Bowman claims that Tolkien "rehabilitated" the northern heroic spirit, instead of simply "rejecting" it (92). She recalls Tolkien's own metaphor of the northern heroic spirit as an impure "alloy", composed of a combination of a self-sacrificing bravery for the good of others (the gold) and a selfish, reckless pursuit for wealth and fame (the base metal). Bowman's point, then, is that Tolkien was concerned with "refining" the heroic code—with separating and burning away the selfish, destructive slag of "overmastering" and excessive pride, while retaining the gold of courage. More positively, Anna Smol and Rebecca Foster call the work "an alliterative tour de force". Scholars have also discussed the influence of "Homecoming" on Tolkien's fictional world of

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...

. George Clark argues that Tolkien's ideas about the northern heroic spirit are manifested in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' through the character Sam; in his steadfast, self-less devotion to Frodo, Sam serves as the "true hero", a kind of anti-Beorhtnoth. Likewise, Bowman claims that both Sam and Bilbo possess the "refined" brand of heroism that she thinks Tolkien is forging in "Homecoming". Other scholars have made similar cases; for example, Alexander Bruce argues that

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" fr ...

's stand against the

Balrog Balrogs () are a species of powerful demonic monsters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the Company of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in ...

in Moria serves as Tolkien's correction of Beorhtnoth's tactical error, and Lynn Forest-Hill sees Beorhtnoth coming through in Boromir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homecoming Of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, The 1953 poems British plays Historical novels Fiction set in Anglo-Saxon England Poetry by J. R. R. Tolkien Fantasy short stories 1953 short stories 1953 books Works originally published in British magazines Plays set in the 10th century